Teenager guilty of attempted murder after raping and hitting woman with paving slab

Teenager guilty of attempted murder after raping and hitting woman with paving slab

THE IDENTITY of a rapist who tried to bludgeon a woman to death with a paving slab on his 17th birthday can be revealed to the public, a High Court judge has ruled.

PUBLISHED: 00:01, Thu, Dec 7, 2017
| UPDATED: 16:25, Thu, Dec 7, 2017

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CCTV footage captured Charlie Pearce running through Clarendon Park with a paving slab under his arm

Charlie John Pearce, of Clarendon Park, Leicester, searched for internet videos depicting the rape of "helpless" women in the weeks leading up to the late-night attack in July.

A court order preventing the identification of Pearce - who left his victim for dead in Leicester's Victoria Park - was lifted by Mr Justice Haddon-Cave at Leicester Crown Court after applications made by the Press Association and the BBC.

Jurors deliberated for three hours before convicting the teenager - who had admitted two counts of rape - of attempted murder.

A three-day trial was told the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was left for dead in undergrowth in the city's Victoria Park - and only found when a passing cyclist spotted a pool of blood.

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Charlie John Pearce claimed that he struck his victim to render her unconscious, rather than to kill

She has shown a level of courage and fortitude that at times has left me and the many officers who worked on this investigation speechless

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Widdowson

Although he denied any intention to kill the woman, Pearce admitted two counts of rape, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and stealing the victim's handbag, which he later tried to burn.

While claiming through lawyers that he struck the victim to render her unconscious rather then kill, Pearce refused to go into the witness box during his defence case.

At the start of trial, prosecutor Gordon Aspden said Pearce was caught on CCTV as he tracked the victim carrying a slab or stone - before again being filmed by a security camera as he fled.

Footage filmed from a property nearby showed the teenager calmly stepping into a driveway to avoid a police patrol answering a 999 call from witnesses who heard "thudding" noises as the woman was attacked at about 11.35pm on July 3.

The court heard that Pearce, who will be 18 in seven months' time, "came within a hair's breadth" of killing the victim, who he dragged into undergrowth.

The woman was taken to hospital for life-saving treatment after being found by a female passer-by around an hour later.

In her testimony to the jury, the witness said she found the victim - who had "truly dreadful" head wounds - after hearing movement in the bushes near a "bright" patch of blood.

The defendant, who had been drinking in a pub, was linked to the attack by "one-in-a-billion" DNA matches after his parents contacted the police following a media appeal.

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CCTV footage captured Mr Pearce sheltering in a driveway to hide from a police patrol

In a statement read to the court by Mr Aspden, the victim said she could remember nothing of the attack.

The woman said: ”I have no recollection of being assaulted or sexually assaulted, nor can I remember who the person was that did that to me.”

In his closing speech to the jury, Mr Aspden said the attack was an attempt to "silence" the victim.

The prosecutor told the jury: "An attack of this type was clearly something that had been festering at the back of his mind in the weeks and days leading up to its commission.

"The ugly truth here is that this dangerous young man, for his own selfish reasons, chose to carry out an attack of quite desolating wickedness on a complete stranger and his intention was to rape and kill her.

"He must have believed that she was very, very seriously injured, if not dying.

"She lay there for the best part of an hour, exposed, badly injured and abandoned. That speaks volumes about his mindset and selfishness."

Adjourning sentence on Pearce, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said: "You have been found guilty of attempted murder by the jury on overwhelming evidence.

"I am going to adjourn sentence on you in order to obtain reports - it would be in your interests to co-operate with the preparation of those reports.

"In view of the gravity of your crimes, you can expect a lengthy sentence."

Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Rob Widdowson, who led the investigation, said the attack was "barbaric and wicked beyond belief".

The officer said: "The horror that he brought to this young woman on that summer evening, and the controlled and deliberate attempts to dispose of the evidence, all but defy description.

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Mr Justice Haddon-Cave allowed Mr Pearce's identity to be revealed following appeals by the BBC

"Had his victim not been found when she was, and were it not for the skills of the many specialists who treated her, I believe she would have died that night.

"She has shown a level of courage and fortitude that at times has left me and the many officers who worked on this investigation speechless."

Mr Widdowson added: "Her determination not just to recover medically, but to regain her life and refuse to be defined by this attack is humbling.

"That she felt able to attend court, and see the person who so savagely attacked her, is a testament to this remarkable young woman."

DCI Widdowson also read a statement on behalf of the victim, which said: "Before this horrific incident I was an independent young woman.

"Last July I woke up from a coma not knowing what I had been through.

"I have to live knowing what happened to me when I was walking home that evening. I have live with the violent injuries as well as the physical and psychological impact they have had on me, and will continue to have on me."